There's nothing like hearing a great tale told by a talented storyteller. San Francisco is fully immersed in the global trend of amateur storytelling, with shows popping up regularly around the Bay. This week, there happen to be a number of storytelling nights happening in the Bay, which means we can get our fill of stories, and also got us thinking about our favorite SF storytelling shows. Here are our picks for the best shows in the city, where you can sit back and hear a great tale or hop on stage yourself with one of your best yarns.
The Moth: The local offshoot of the New York storytelling giant, the Moth holds storytelling shows regularly at Public Works, where anyone has a shot to hop on stage and wow the crowd on the night's theme. Winners from those shows are invited on stage for the Grand Slam, usually held at the Castro. Occasionally the Moth heads to Berkeley, so check the schedule to find the stories closest to you. Catch the next SF show, on Balance, this Wednesday, July 8.
Porchlight Storytelling Series: Held the last Monday of the month at the Hemlock Tavern, Porchlight invites you onstage to share a timed, 5-minute story on the month's broad topic. All storytellers get a free drink and the night's winner, as voted by the audience, gets a bag of warm peanuts (heyo!) and an invitation to speak at one of Porchlight's main stage shows, held at the Verdi Club.
Mortified: Everyone has embarrassing childhood moments, and everyone wants to hear about someone else's. Mortified brings the humiliation to a bold new level by taking those embarrassing stories to the stage, complete with artifacts from the incidents in question. Unlike other shows, the lineup of storytellers is decided in advance. Check out Mortified's next show this Friday, July 10th at DNA Lounge, the theme of which is teenage sexual confusion. We're blushing already!
Speechless: Here in the heart of tech country, we know a thing or two about ridiculous PowerPoint presentations. Speechless creates nonsense PowerPoint slides and then asks local comedians to create on-the-spot presentations, having no idea what slide is coming next. The result is oddly hilarious. Catch the next installment on Thursday, July 23rd at Public Works.
StorySlam Oakland: or storytellers nervous about performing for a crowd, hit up one of StorySlam's practice sessions at the Leaning Tower of Pizza in Oakland. This is a great way to test your storytelling chops with a small, supportive crowd before taking the stage at the Sweet Bar Bakery in Oakland for StorySlam, one of the East Bay's best monthly open-mic series. The next show is Thursday, July 16th and the theme is "strangers."